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Segedunum

In AD122 the Emperor Hadrian ordered a mighty frontier system to be built across Britain to defend the Roman Empire from the barbarians to the North.

Segedunum, which means ‘Strong Fort’, was built to guard the eastern end of Hadrians Wall, with capacity for 600 Roman soldiers, it stood for almost 300 years.

Sometime round about 400AD the fort was abandoned. For centuries the area remained as open farmland, but in the 18th century, collieries were sunk near the fort and the area gradually became a populous pit village. In 1884, the whole fort disappeared under terraced housing.

Segedunum is once again a major site on Hadrian's Wall. It is the most excavated fort along the Wall with surviving foundations of many buildings and part of the Wall itself. There is a large interactive museum plus full-scale reconstructions of a bath house and a section of Wall. The 35 metre high viewing tower provides outstanding views across this World Heritage Site.